Infantile colic, maternal smoking and infant feeding at 5 weeks of age.

Background: Many parents seek help from health professionals because of their infants' persistent crying in the early months. The aetiology of this condition, often labelled ;;infantile colic'', is still unclear.

Aims: To assess whether smoking during pregnancy, and/or smoking at infant age 5 weeks, is associated with infantile colic, and to describe how feeding at infant age 5 weeks and smoking are related to colic.

Infantile colic and the role of trait anxiety during pregnancy in relation to psychosocial and socioeconomic factors.

Aims: A study was undertaken to assess the impact of psychological, psychosocial and socioeconomic factors on the risk of having a child with infantile colic.

Methods: Psychosocial and psychological factors were assessed by self-administered questionnaires in the 17th, and by telephone interviews in the 35th-37th pregnancy weeks; infantile colic occurrence was assessed by telephone interviews at infant age 5 weeks; subjects were 1,099 mother-infant dyads.

Results: High trait anxiety increased the colic risk; OR 2.

Higher risk of colic in infants of nonmanual employee mothers with a demanding work situation in pregnancy.

In this population-based study, we assessed the relation between socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions in 1,094 pregnant women and subsequent infantile colic by means of self-administered questionnaires measuring exposures in the 17th pregnancy week and telephone interviews at infant age 5 weeks. There was a higher risk of colic in infants born to younger mothers, mothers with low instrumental support in pregnancy, and mothers with nonmanual occupations. Having an "active" job situation, that is, high demands and high decision latitude at work, acted synergistically with a nonmanual occupation, yielding even higher odds ratios for colic as did concomitant low instrumental support and nonmanual occupation.

Colicky infants according to maternal reports in telephone interviews and diaries: a large Scandinavian study.

In this population-based study the colic incidence was 9.4%, according to telephone interviews with the parents made when the infants were 5 weeks of age (n = 1628), and parental concern about infant crying was common. However, 7-day diaries of colicky and control infants (n = 116 + 119) revealed low distress amounts in colicky infants in general.

Early patient contact in primary care: a new challenge.

Background: The Medical School of Lund University, Sweden, has introduced an early patient contact course, including training in communication and examination skills. The course runs parallel with theoretical subjects during the students' first two-and-a-half years. General practitioner (GP) participation is gradually increasing, and in the last half-year of the course GPs in all health centres in the area are involved.